“The shared meal elevates eating from a mechanical process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community, from the mere animal biology to an act of culture.” ― Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (2008)

Please join us as we continue our Irvine Food Tour with Commissioner Melissa Fox and UCI Professor Catherine Liu, showcasing and sharing our wonderful cultural diversity in Irvine as expressed in scores of amazing local restaurants and markets featuring cuisines as diverse as Irvine’s population!

Our expert hosts will be Professor Catherine Liu and Capital Seafood General Manager James Tea, who will curate a diverse, vegetarian friendly, selection of dim sum.

Dim Sum is a style of Cantonese food prepared as bite-sized or individual portions, traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. In restaurants, dim sum dishes are carted around for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables. You are offered an assortment of dishes and pick what you like.

Scholars believe that dim sum is linked to the Chinese teahouses that sprung up to accommodate weary travelers journeying along the famous Silk Road, providing them with tea and conversation while eating an assortment of bite size dishes.

In the west, dim sum came about as a natural result of 19th century Chinese immigrants – many of whom were from the Canton region – settling on the East and West coasts. Some experts believe that the dim sum eaten by Chinese-American immigrants inspired the idea of “brunch” – combining breakfast and lunch into one relaxing midmorning meal.

Please note: The Irvine Food Tour is the creation of Melissa Fox and Dr. Catherine Liu, based on their love of Irvine’s many cultures and cuisines and their desire to share Irvine’s many wonderful cultures and cuisines with you, and is not an official activity or event of the City of Irvine.

Irvine Community Services Commissioner Melissa Fox reading to first graders at Northwood Elementary School

Irvine Commissioner Melissa Fox at Solar Decathlon

Irvine Community Services Commissioner Melissa Fox at Exchange Club of Irvine

Irvine Community Services Commissioner Melissa Fox

Irvine Community Services Commissioner Melissa Fox speaks to City Council on behalf of OC veterans, urging the City Council to set aside land in the Great Park as a final resting place for Orange County veterans